Seat-frame.



H. S. HALE.

I SEAT FRAME. APPLICATION FILED JAN.20, 190s.

Patented Sept. 27, 1910.

AT-TO'RNEY l w W! YHE NORRIS mzrsres co., wAsumcro y, n cy HENRY S. HALE, OF-PHILADELPHIA, PENN SYLVANIA, ASSIGNOE ITO HALE-KILBURN METAL COMPANY, OF FEILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CGBPORATIQN OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

SEAT-FRAME.

Specification of Letters Eatent. Patented Sept. 27, T91@.

Application filed January 20, 1908. Serial No. 411,601.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY S. HALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Seat- Frames, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metallic seatframes adapted particularly for use as supports for the aisle ends of seats of the type commonly employed in railway cars.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of such seatframes, the invention being directed to the provision of a frame which may be manufactured and the parts thereof assembled at very low cost, which possess ample strength, and which is of attractive appearance.

The seat-frame constructed in accordance with the invention has an enlarged base, preferably of oval cross-section and formed to facilitate securing it to the support, a body rising therefrom of oval-shape to cor respond with the base and which may be of uniform cross-section or tapered somewhat, and a yoke at the upper end, the arms of which extend outwardly in opposite directions and are adapted to carry the connecting rails of the seat. This seat-frame consists of three parts, namely, the base-portion, the body-portion and the yoke, these being suitably secured together. By making the base-portion, the body-portion and the yoke in three separate parts, each formed from a suitably-shaped blank by pressing the same into the desired form, and then securing these parts together, a material reduction in cost of production of the seatframes is effected, without sacrificing in any way the strength or appearance of the finished article.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whieh Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the seat-frame, Fig. 2 is a similar View, the plane of the section being at a right angle to that of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a central section of a modified form of seat-frame, Figs. 4. and 5 are views similar to Figs. 1 and 2, respectively, showing a further modification, and Fig. 6 is a view similar to Figs. 5 and 2 showing another modification.

Referring to these drawings, the seat- .frame consists of a base-portion 1, a bodyportion 2 and a yoke 3 united together. Each of these parts is made of sheet-metal which is pressed to the form illustrated in the drawings. The base-portion 1 is preferably of oval cross-section and tapers somewhat toward its upper end. At the bottom thereof, it is flared outwardly to provide a flange 1 which may have openings formed therein to receive screws by which the seat frame is secured to the floor of the car. The upper end of the base-portion is closed, as shown at 5, and a shoulder 6 is formed in the metal in the pressing operation near its upper end. The body-portion 2 may also be of oval cross-section and may be tapered somewhat, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, or may be uniform throughout, as shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6. The ends of the bodyportion 2 are open and the body is of such size that its lower end will fit over the top 5 of the base-portion 1, its edge resting upon the shoulder 6, this coaction of the overlapping ends of the two parts insuring proper relative positioning thereof. The yoke 3 has arms 7 and 8 extending outwardly in opposite directions and preferably U-shaped in crosssection These arms may be flanged outwardly at their edges and sheet-metal plates 9 secured upon the ends thereof to facilitate mounting the connecting rails upon the arms. The lower end of yoke 3 is closed, as shown at 10, and a shoulder 11 is formed in the metal directly above this closed end. The upper end of the body 2 fits over the closed end 10 and is positioned relatively thereby, its edge resting against the shoulder 11.

The three parts of the seat-frame are secured together by means of a bolt 12 passing through openings in the ends 5 and 10 and having a nut 18 threaded upon one end thereof which may be tightened up to draw the three parts together and hold them firmly united. In order to distribute the strain, washers 14 are preferably inserted under the head and nut of the bolt. Preferably, transverse corrugations 15 are provided in the closed ends 5 and 10 of the baseportion and yoke to assist in preventing distortion thereof in tightening up the nut on bolt 12. The three parts of the seat-frame are thus secured tightly together, and the lines of the parts run one into the other so that a graceful and attractive frame is produced.

The construction shown in Fig. 3 is like that of Figs. 1 and 2, except that the ends of the body-portion 2 underlap instead of overlap the base-portion and yoke. The adjacent ends of the baseportion and yoke are provided with circumferential beads 16 and the ends of the tubular body 2 lie against these beads.

The seat-frame shown in Figs. 4L and 5 also consists of a base-portion, a body and a yoke, as described above in connection with F l, 2 and 3, the arms of the yoke being turned slightly to one side so that both lie upon the same side of the vertical axis. in this form of my invention the lower end 17 of the yoke 3 fits within the upper end of the body 2 and the lower end 18 of the body 2 fits within the upper end of the base-portion 1. Preferably, these overlapping portions fit together quite tightly so that they must be forced one inside the other; in this position they are held either by the pressure resulting from forcing them one within the other or by brazing, soldering, welding or riveting.

The construction shown in Fig. 6 is like that of Fig. 5, except that the ends of the three parts, instead of overlapping, abut one another. The abutting edges may be united in any suitable manner as, for instance, by welding or brazing. Or, if desired, one or both of the two joints between the parts may be formed by employing a butt strap 19 which may be riveted or brazed in place within the end of one of the parts and projecting beyond that end and into the adjacent part to which it may be secured in any suitable manner.

The seat-frame constructed as shown herein may be manufactured at very low cost, as the three parts thereof are of such shape that they can be readily made from sheetmetal by pressing a suitably shaped blank into the desired form. These parts when completed may be united in any one of the ways above described at small expense of time and labor. The completed seat-frame is quite strong enough to withstand the strains to which it is subjected and presents an attractive appearance.

Having described my invent-ion, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A seatframe comprising a base-portion tapering toward its upper end and having its upper end closed, a tubular body-portion, a yoke having outwardly-extending arms for the support of a seat structure and a closed lower end, each of said parts consisting of a sheet-metal piece pressed into form, a ledge formed in said base-portion and in said yoke at the closed ends thereof, and. means for securing said parts together with the ends of said body-portion bearing on said ledges, substantially as set forth.

2. A seat-frame comprising a base-portion tapering toward its upper end and having its upper end closed, a tubular body-portion, a yoke having outwardly-extending arms for the support of a seat structure and a closed lower end, each of said parts consisting of a sheet-metal piece pressed into form, a bolt passing through said closed ends to secure said parts together, and corrugations formed in said closed ends to prevent distortion thereof, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 13th day of January, 1908.

HENRY S. HALE. lVitnesses Gno. H. RArsoN, JAMES A. MARTIN. 

